administration wrestling with several crises. two house republicans asking the inspector general to investigate leaks of classified information following the firing of former national security adviser michael flynn. >> equal urgency to look into the substance that led to those leaks, and all these questions about contact with russia in the trump administration not so much. a lot of republicans are refusing a broad probe of this situation. in another bizarre twist, the president is defending the very man he ousted, calling him a wonderful man and seeming to blame the media for why flynn had to go. this is not the only high-profile exit, by the way. trump's labor nominee withdrawing his name because of ethical issues. we are in day 28 of the trump presidency. let's begin with cnn's joe johns live at the white house. joe. >> reporter: chris, there are kwo continuing calls for a special investigation on capitol hill. the president this morning

focusing on people leaking information as well as defending the very adviser he just fired. >> general flynn is a wonderful man. he's been treated very, very unfair by the media, the fake media. >> reporter: president trump defending national security adviser michael flynn and slamming the intelligence leaks that exposed flynn's lies to vice president pence about communications with the russian ambassador. >> i think it's very unfair what happened to general flynn, the way he was treated and the documents and papers that were illegally -- i stress that -- illegally leaked. >> reporter: one crisis after another frustrating the president's own party and threatening to affect their agenda. >> of course i'm concerned. all of us should be concerned. >> reporter: some republicans are toeing the president's line,

focusing on the legality of the leaks. >> reporter: the chairs of the oversight and ju dish ri committees demanding the inspector general launch, quote, an immediate information into whether classified information was mishandled. >> we met again yesterday, there's going to be a bipartisan investigation. all of this is going to be in the context of that, and we're looking for facts and we're looking for evidence and details. >> reporter: meanwhile, a small bipartisan group of the senate judiciary committee is calling for an expanded investigation asking the department of justice and the fbi for a briefing and the release of transcripts of flynn's conversations with russia, as democrats call for a larger independent investigation. >> the american people have a right to know. >> reporter: key republicans continue to resist. >> on the flynn issue, i think we need to ask questions first and find out whether the scope of the investigation needs to be

expanded. >> reporter: the turmoil over flynn's resignation, also over shadows the high profile visit from israeli president trump benjamin netanyahu. the president breaking with decades of foreign policy, abandoning a two-state solution to middle east peace. no longer insisting on the creation of a palestinian state and making clear he isn't giving netanyahu a blank check. >> as with any successful negotiation, both sides will have to make compromises. you know that, right? >> reporter: in yet another blow for the trump white house, the president's embattled pick for labor secretary andrew puzder withdrawing his nomination a day before he was set to give a senate hearing over eroding succe success, over his business record and personal character issues. president trump tweeting, quote, the spotlight has finally been put on the low life leakers.

they will be caught. candidate trump during the campaign embraced leakers as performing a public service. alisyn? >> joining us now, republican congressman brian nast of florida, united states army combat bet and purple heart recipient. good morning, congressman. >> good morning. >> thanks so much for being here. are you worried about what you've seen thus far about the trump team's ties to russia? >> i'm not worried about the ties i'm seeing there. to tell you the truth, i think it's prudent you not see the outspoken words from the president in front of the media on what he thinks should be done with russia. i think it is prudent some of these things happening behind closed doors, maybe with rex tillerson. we don't want to see a repeat of what happened with president obama and the failed syrian red line, if he puts something out there that we can't walk back from. that's not what we're looking for. hopefully tillerson will speak with the russians and tell them, if you mess with the bull,

you're going to get the horns. >> given mr. trump has used fairly mild rhetoric about vladimir putin and been complimentary in some things, as well as all of the reporting that there are top-level trump advisers during the campaign who had what was described as constant or regular communication with russian officials, does that cause you any concern? >> i look at this situation, whether you're talking about any officials on the campaign side, general flynn or any piece of this conversation, i think it's absolutely fair for people to ask questions, for people to expect that we go through the process of intel and oversight, looking at all sides of the issues to say what is actually happening. that is a fair process. that's something i think is okay for the american people to expect. i expect that out of my peers as well. that's not something you'll get pushback from me on. >> why do you think your

colleague, jason chaffetz, chairman of the oversight committee is looking into whether or not the leaks were illegal of possibly classified information, but not the substance of the allegations of the trump ties to russia. >> i certainly encourage him to look at that piece of it. whether the leaks were illegal, that's an important part of it. that can undermine the workings of our national security. that is very important. beyond that, yeah, we absolutely have to move on and say the american people want to see an accounting for this and that's something we should give him. >> i hear you. you're saying you can do both. why then do you think jason chaffetz and bob goodlatte are not doing that? >> i couldn't begin to answer for either one of them. >> what questions do you have about the trump administration's ties to russia. >> the questions i have are things i would want to ask and

get answers behind closed doors. i would want to ask them, what is your intechks, how do you view russia? are you viewing them maybe not necessarily as an enemy but absolutely as a major aggressor on all fronts concerning the united states of america. i don't expect to say them in front of the media because we don't want to get them into a situation that we can't walk back from by saying, this is what ywe're going to do, russia if you do this. yeah, i want to hear the answers on how they view russia and what it is they plan to do in response to russia putting a ship off our coast, what it is they plan to do in response to russia trying to participate in anything having to do with our elections or any other way that they're trying to manipulate anything having to do with the united states of america. >> as we speak, there's a russian spy ship off the coast of connecticut.

that's the farthest north that spy ship has ever been. do you think the trump administration has been strong enough in condemning that? >> i think this is exactly why you're going to see the secretary of state speaking with russians. i suspect he'll be behind closed doors giving them some sort of ultimatum about it and making sure this is not something that will be allowed to continue. either they rectify the situation or they'll pay the price. >> i want to ask you about some other news we've learned this morning. that is that the pentagon is considering sending combat troops, ground troops to syria to fight isis. you are in the perfect position to share your thoughts on this. you're a purple heart recipient. you encountered an ied in combat. you lost both legs. what do you think about the idea that u.s. troops will be going to syria? >> it's never an easy idea to send u.s. troops anywhere. the reality of that sort of situation is that there is going to be a loss of life, a loss of

limbs. those are my peers, my friends. i take that very, very seriously. i think one of the biggest missing pieces as we talk about what's going on in syria is we forget about our own heritage. we're americans. we're very familiar with what a revolution is. you have a crumbling nation where there are literally over a million refugees scattered throughout the region that should be being trained to come back into their nation and fight for their communities, fight for a way to return to their area. i think they should be looked at as what should be the brunt of that fighting force. that's what a revolution looks like. if they want their community, their home back, they need to fight for it. this is something that's been going on for six years. there's a lot of training that could have been done in that period of time to get people to be very capable fighters and fight to take back their own country. that's something that would make them a great people and give them a great history that they could look back on for

generations to come. if they don't do that, they're missing an opportunity. it's not an easy thing to say, obviously. i know the consequences of war. i know what i'm asking of those refugees. i know what would happen to those individuals. i would say, hey, you would have our support if you're willing to go there and act in this way and fight for your own country, you're going to have our support. we'll have your back. >> when you say our support and our back, are you suggesting that the u.s. should just send weapons to the rebels as opposed to sending ground troops? >> absolutely not. i had a conversation with congressman rohrabacher recently. he served with the mujahideen. he said something important about his time serving with them, he doesn't think it's prudent or right to give somebody weapons and simply leave them on their own. you have to find a way to help them, train them, potentially lead them. he and i were literally having the conversation that we would go over there and lead those refugees into battle if that was something that was asked of us.

that's just how much we believe in making sure that these people have their own vested interest in taking back their own country. >> congressman brian mast, thank you very much for being on "new day." thank you for your service to the country. >> you're welcome. what do democrats want to know about the ties between president trump's advisers and rush yurs. we heard from a republican congressman. we'll ask a senator on the intelligence committee next. across new york state, from long island to buffalo,

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all right. president trump says leaks and the media are to blame apparently for former national security adviser michael flynn's no longer being part of his administration. the senate judiciary committee is taking a closer look at flynn's communications with russia. joining us now is democratic senator mark warner from virginia. he's the vice chairman of the select committee on intelligence. what do you want to know? >> chris, what we want to know is what kind of contacts flynn had with the russian ambassador. we want to see the transcript. clearly what happened was flynn who at that point was a private citizen. he, in effect, appears to have tried to undermine the united

states since president obama put sanctions in place because of the russian intervention on our elections. this is troubling on a whole host of areas. we have to look into how the russians interfered with false enter -- this contact with trump officials and russians before the election. we still don't know what was the extent of the financial remuneration between flynn and rt news. why was flynn buddy-buddy with vladimir putin during this meeting in moscow. and one of the things that is particularly troubling is we heard now that flynn's security clearance has been removed by defense intelligence agency. you do not get your security clearance removed unless there's a very serious item. so the president's comments

about somehow this is leak's fault is so far off the mark that i frankly don't even think it's credible, some of those comments. >> well, what do you make of one of the new facts in this situation, was that apparently, the fbi says it's not going to prosecute mike flynn. now, without knowing that much about the situation, we do know that the most likely cause for the fbi to prosecute would be lieing to them, right? that's the difference between the fbi and regular police. if you lie to the fbi, it's a felony. so it does suggest that flynn did not lie to them. and if that means his story has been consistent, it may not be that this transcript shows what you're suggesting which is that mike flynn compromise the u.s. position on sanctions. and if that's true, it raises more questions about why he was forced out, doesn't it? >> chris, we can clear this up. let's get a look at the

transcript. >> why can't you, by the way? why haven't you gotten it already? >> chris, that is a great, great question, and something that i and chairman burr, the intelligence committee has made the request. we expect to get that transcript. this is happening so fast there doesn't seem to be another day that doesn't go by where there's not some, again, outrageous news story. here is what we know for facts. general flynn said there was a very innocent conversation. we then know a few days later general flynn changes his story, says it wasn't an innocent conversation. we don't know what the president knows. we don't know what he told the vice president. it appears that he left the vice president, in effect, hanging out to dry as the vice president put his credibility on the line vouching for flynn. we also know as a fact that flynn has resigned, asked for resignation by the president

because the president has lost faith in flynn, and then we also know that the defense intelligence agency has removed general flynn's security clearance. >> but why wouldn't they do that if he's out? if he resigns, why wouldn't that happen automatically? >> you tell me, chris, why this series of events where clearly general flynn misrepresented at least at first to the president and who knows who else, what he said to the russian ambassador? we'll get that transcript, we'll clear this up. let me be very clear. there are people that leave the intelligence service and still maintain for a period of time their security clearance. you do not lightly lose your security clearance. and the fact that the dia acted in this case to me raises huge concerns. no matter how often the

president tries to place the blame on somebody else, place the blame on you guys in the media, we need to get the answers. the american public deserves to get the answers. that's why this investigation in terms of unprecedented russian interference -- we've got to get to the bottom of it. >> it's more important than ever that facts drive the discussion. the partisanship is unmovable, it's intractable. >> except, chris, on this one it's actually not partisan. >> jason chaffetz wants to look into the leaks but not the substance of the matter. jim jordan who is part of the benghazi movement, 33 hearings, $7 million saying, well, let's go at it deliberately and see what's going on, even with these allegations and questions we have. it doesn't speak to n a urgency that's bipartisan. >> chris, i can't say grace over the house. all i can say is we have the chair and ranking member of the intelligence committee who jointly in a bipartisan way want

to get the facts. we have senators like senator mccain, we have senator graham, we have senator rubio who are all saying, hey, we've got to be careful in terms of russian interference on this item at least. this is one bright spot of bipartisanship that we know russia is an adversary, we know we want to get to the bottom of what happened. frankly, when the american people understand how substantial russian interference has. i'm not sure your viewers know there were literally a thousand russian trolls, russian internet manipulators who were trying to manipulate our news for a number of months so people didn't read about what was happening clinton versus trump. they were reading fact news that was being propagated by such as rt news, a propaganda machine of

the russian government. >> senator warner, forgive my skepticism. i hope you're right and it becomes a bipartisan effort. if the president is so worried about leaks, he can declassify those transcripts of the calls with flynn himself. it's an executive operation. he could do it. and then everybody would know the truth. >> amen, amen. let's get it declassified. >> senator warner, that starts with you. let me know how it goes and thank you for making the case on "new day." >> thank you, chris. defense secretary james mattis speaking out about russia's role in the u.s. election. we'll tell you what he just said moments ago, next. (vo) maybe it was here,

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this is cnn breaking news. >> we are following breaking news. defense secretary james mattis appears to be closing the door on military cooperation with russia. we've been looking for this, to see how the cabinet members might take a different path than the president. mattis speaking moments ago at nato headquarters in brussels. let's get right to cnn's barbara starr live at the pentagon with the breaking details. >> reporter: good morning, chris. if anybody had any doubt that jim mattis is an independent

think thinker, don't doubt it anymore after this morning. mattis shaping up rapidly as someone with a voice, perhaps very independent from the political ideology of the trump white house. mattis speaking a short time ago about that issue of cooperation with the russian military and did russia hack the elections. have a listen. >> we will engage politically. we are not in a position right now to collaborate on a military level. our political leaders will engage and try to find common ground or a way forward where russia living up to its commitments. right now i would say there's very little doubt that they have either interfered or attempted to interfere in a number of elections in the democracies. >> mattis leaving no doubt that e believes russia was involved in interfering with the election and for now at least shutting the door to cooperation with the russian military which is

something russia wants from the united states especially in syria. mattis is an independent thicker and clearly he is expressing that. we are being told by sources at the pentagon that there's much less oversight, even before mike flynn left the nsc that the pentagon under mattis will have much less of the micromanagement. mattis will have much more runway room, if you will, to express his views an his thoughts. we'll see, of course, how long it all lasts. chris, alisyn? >> barbara, thank you for that breaking news. let's get to fareed zakaria. fareed, what do you make of mattis using quite different language that president has about whether or not to cooperate militarily at least with russia? >> it is startling, a direct contradiction on both issues of what trump has said. trump's basic argument and why he wanted to be nice to russia is we're going to get together

and go after isis. the clear implication and occasionally more than implication was the united states and russia will have military cooperation against isis. mattis clearly saying that is not going to happen, and on the issue of interference, as we note, donald trump has very often said he doesn't believe it, he thinks the intelligence is bad. these are the same guys who said iraq had nuclear weapons. so you're seeing a white house and an administration with the whole structure, just from the point of view of functions is very strange. you have all these centers of poir at the white house, from steve bannon to jared kushner. now you have a defense secretary contradicting the commander-in-chief and a secretary of state who is a wol. rex tillerson seems to be absent. there are many ways secretaries of state can give statements, interviews, be at meetings. he doesn't need my advice.

he's ceo of one of the most powerful corporations in the world. in washington proximity is power. you don't want to be constantly away from the president and the center of decision making. you want to find a way to do both. if it means you have to travel faster and more, that's what you'll do. >> with tillerson we may have a sensitivity at play. part of the scrutiny with tillerson was his relationship with russia, not that they were nefarious, but would they compromise his loyalty to the united states, his putting it first all the time. all this russia intrigue and these questions, i don't know he would be helpful right now if he were speaking on behalf of the president about russia and c conflation of interest. >> the trump administration is in a bit of a box. i don't think it can even execute the idea that donald trump had, which might have been a reasonable one which was to search for some kind of cooperation with russia. right now because of so many questions surrounding the

motivations, the collaboration between the trump administration, the trump campaign and russia, i don't think he can go there. i don't think he can go toward any kind of relaxation of sanctions on russia, any kind of cooperation with russia because everyone would ask, legitimately, i think, why is he doing this? what's the real motive. >> we just had a journalist on with us, the only american journalist who had been expelled from russia since the cold war. >> sat ter. >> he had a fascinating perspective. he said you don't want russia to be your partner in fighting isis. they carpet bomb cities, he said they kill many more civilians than terrorists. the idea they were going to be a great partner was also misguided. >> it's also bizarre. one of the great victories of the united states during the end of the cold war was to ease russia out of the middle east. that had been something that the nixon administration had begun by flipping egypt.

for 30 or 40 years we've been trying to get russia out of the middle east. the idea we would provide a red carpet to have them back in, seems to be an invitation to instability and great power competition in an area where we had actually achieved a level of dominance we had not had in decades. >> so when we look at what happened in the middle east with benjamin netanyahu here, trump says whatever they want to do is fine. the starting position for most americans will be, look, whatever we're doing isn't working, so why not throw it all out and begin again. what are your cautions with what we just heard from the president? >> to be blunt, it made no sense. what the president said was i'm okay with a one-state or two-state solution, but then he goes on to say but israel shouldn't build any new settlements. why not build settlements? the whole point of not building settlements is because it makes a two-state solution impossible. let's make sure everyone

understands. the whole point is if israel builds settlements in area of the west bank, it will be very difficult to eventually give those to the palestinians for a two-state solution. if you don't care what kind of solution -- if you have a one-state solution, it's fine, then the settlements are fine. even within his own logic, it's completely contradictory. >> it sounded like one of the things for histologic was, you guys figure it out, i support whatever agreement you guys come up with. >> it seemed so removed from reality. it would be like saying to poland in 1990, if you want to stay part of the soviet empire, it's good with me. if you want independence, it's good with me. i think he was very poorly briefed or not briefed at all. every israeli prime minister for the last 20 years has been in favor of the two-state solution. >> but not netanyahu. >> he gave a speech. he has conditions. >> a fair statement would be

he's more open to the direction trump is going than we've seen in the past. >> this is the most right wing government in israel for a long time. look, trump's statements in the press conference made no sense. it was either the product of very bad staffing or he decided not to get briefed. there's something going on. he threw out the idea that maybe we'll have a deal with i could involve more than just israel and the palestinians, as if this were a new idea he dreamed up over the weekend, this is something the saudi crown prince proposed 15 years ago that the arab league has endorsed for 15 years. again, the whole thing felt like amateur hour and it was very distressing. president trump netanyahu kept coming in and kind of rescuing trump. there was a point at which he was asked to disavow the anti-semitism that seems to be associated on the fringes of people supporting him, and he decided not to. he gave a bizarre declaration there's going to be a lot of love coming out of this

administration. the prime minister had to come in and rescue it and say no, no, no, i'm sure president trump doesn't stand for any of this. what was going on? again, either poor staff work or no staff work. >> fareed zakaria, thanks for being here. another issue playing out in realtime. a mother is fighting to stay in this country. what the undocumented immigrant who has lived in the u.s. for nearly a decade is doing to stop authorities from deporting her, what she's doing, will it work, what she's doing, will it work, next. ked the wrong insurance plan. no, i picked the wrong insurance company. with liberty mutual new car replacement™, you won't have to worry about replacing your car because you'll get the full value back including depreciation. and if you have more than one liberty mutual policy, you qualify for a multi-policy discount, saving you money on your car and home coverage. call for a free quote today. liberty stands with you™.

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so an undocumented mother of four is taking sanctuary in a denver church. her name is engine net vizguera. she was supposed to check in with immigration officials yesterday. instead, she headed to the church. why? she's hoping to gain a stay of deportation. there's a story behind this. cnn's ana cabrera has it. >> reporter: demonstrators outside the immigration office in colorado supporting a mother of four from mexico, engine net

vizgera scheduled to check in with i.c.e. her attorney and pastor entered without her. >> we'll go in and talk to immigration. we'll be back in a second. >> reporter: she chose not to show up, instead taking refuge inside a church where she received the bad news by phone. >> they denied her stay. >> reporter: her request for a temporary stay denied despite six previous stays that were granted. she was at first speechless, then in tears, her nightmare coming true. we talked with her prior to the check-in about her fear. >> it's difficult. my kids are my life. my family is my life.

no it's my country, but it's my house. it's my house and my kids. it's the country of my kids. >> so this is your home, this country? >> it's my home. i'm living more years here than my country. >> reporter: she came to the u.s. in 1997, three children ages 6, 10 and 12 born in the u.s. her holdest is tanya, 26, with three children of her own. she has legal status through daca, an obama administration policy. >> she's the backbone of her family. without her, my kids wouldn't know their grandma anymore. >> reporter: this family's future in limbo since 2009 when she was arrested following a traffic stop. she had a fake social security number on a job application in her car, fighting deportation ever since. did they give you specific reasons for denying the stay

this time? >> when you have a blanket deportation policy, you don't need to have specific reasons. you just say no, that's exactly what they did. >> reporter: the local i.c.e. office provided the following response, saying she has two misdemeanor convections. on november 18, 2011, a federal immigration judge originally issued her final orders of deportation to mexico. based on these factors, she is an i.c.e. enforcement priority. >> down, down with deportation. up, up with liberation. >> reporter: the news triggering a protest in d.c. meantime colorado congressman has filed a private bill in the house of representatives hoping to help plead her case. for now she's moved into this denver church basement, an informal sanctuary where immigration officials have not yet dared to go. she addressed supporters through a translator this afternoon.

>> translator: i know my fight will continue even though i'm still -- even though i'm inside these walls, there's much i can do to continue organizing and continue to support my community. by my community i don't just mean the mexican immigrant community, i don't just mean south americans. there are people from all over the world that are in the exact same situation as i am. >> reporter: how long are you prepared to stay here? >> i don't know. it's possible days, months or years. >> reporter: anna cabrera, cnn, denver. >> very fascinating the look at her story. as we know, president trump has said he will go after the hardened criminals, the violent criminals, the gang members. she's not one of those, and he has also said i'm going to be very compassionate. my policy is not going to rip families apart, it's going to be very compassionate. so we'll see. there are lots of people in her situation. >> you have what you say, and you have what you do. you have the law here truthfully

as a distraction. this is a political argument. you can have the right to do something, they have the right to deport her, the right to go in the church if they want. but is it right to do? that's the political scruggs that needs a resolution. her career has spanned decades, now betty white is telling our brooke baldwin that comedy is tough and she's revealing her secret forgetting laughs. stick around for that on "new day". in today's "food as fuel," you can snack your way to a sensational style. knew trishist lisa drayer shares her tip. >> brushing and flossing are important for a beautiful smile. so is what you eat. apples and carrots, their crunch factor stimulates the gums and clears food particles. they also increase the flow of saliva, rinse away bacteria and

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cnn's original series "the history of comedy" is taking a look at the funnier sex. who better to talk about it than be loved betty white. at 95 years young, she's mastered the art of getting a laugh. brooke baldwin caught up with her. >> i don't know how i got flown to l.a. to talk to her. it was a dream come true. saturday nights watching "golden girls." she had our crew cracking up the entire time. our producer tried to put the microphone on, there was a "are you getting fresh with me? booked her first gig out of high school in 1939. marinade on that for a second. this woman is showing no signs of slowing down. >> what was it about the funny piece that really resonated?

>> that was from the beginning. nobody could take me seriously. when i finally began to get acting roles, i was thrilled and people were letting me play a straight part and all that, because it had always been comedy up until then. comedy is tough because if you don't get the laugh, it didn't work. you've got an instant review. >> what do you think that special sauce is that you have to get a laugh so long? >> a mother and father who never had a straight line in their lives. we used to have more fun. sunday morning breakfast would go on for three hours because we get into -- just the three of us. it wasn't like we needed a lot of people. i spent more time with them than i did with my friends because they were just more fun.

for that reason i've never been a big people person, to want to be around a lot of people or especially be around a lot of young people orchids my age. i've always enjoyed older people until i got to be an older people. i don't find them nearly as fascinating. it's always been a joy to perform. i always had to be wherever the audience was. >> what did that feel like for you? >> it hits you right here. it's so gratifying. i just love it. i still at my age -- 42 -- >> 42 looks good on you, betty white. >> thank you so much. some people say i don't look it. a lot of people say that, come to think of it. >> how did you learn what was funny? >> it's timing. it's not what's funny. i think you can make almost

anything funny. it's not something you can teach. it's something you've got to feel. >> you know, different presidents come and go and "saturday night live" as you know, having hosted it, may make fun of everyone. they've really taken on this administration. i think the current president has made it clear over twitter that he's not thrilled with "saturday night live." do you think he can't take a joke or in general presidents need to just understand that it's a comedy show? >> i'm in the comedy business. i can say whatever i want. if the joke doesn't work or if somebody -- oh, gosh, i can't stand her, she never makes me laugh, fine, that's your opinion. if you're a politician in a serious job and they start poking fun at you, i would think that would be hard to take. >> what does 95 feel like? >> it feels like it was 96 in january. >> 95.

>> am i only 95? oh, my gosh, i'm a kid. i have no idea. i better shorten my bra strap. >> what does it feel like, seriously? >> seriously? >> you've lived 95 years on this earth. you've seen a lot. >> it's a privilege because i've learned so much from the people i've known, but over those years some of the dearest long lasting friends in the world, and in this business you make some of those friendships that never go away. you're friends forever. >> oh, my gosh, that's awesome. she's inflating her age. >> quick as a whip the whole time. two times in the interview she was convinced she was 96. you heard the peanut gallery say, you're 95. >> that's so funny. >> she really loves talking about, in particular, other than

comedy, her late husband who passed away at 81 from cancer. that was tough for her. they never had children. she's on the board of directors of the l.a. zoo. she loves feeding her dogs, loves feeding grizzly bears marshmallows. she's already got a gig booked for when she's 100. >> what a role model. can you stick around for late night laughs? >> for you? anything. >> get the real story on "the history of comedy" tonight, 9:00 p.m. eastern only on cnn. then comics taking on -- 10:00 p.m. i'm inflating other numbers. >> comics are taking on president trump. as you know, nothing is off limits. here are your late night laughs. >> guys, trump is an old man. no, like really old, and maybe

that's just it. maybe that's just it. think about it. who watches a ton of tv news and complains about everything they say? old people. [ cheers and applause ] >> who goes to florida because their bones can't handle the cold? old people. >> big story, last night "the new york times" published a bombshell report that president trump's campaign was in contact with russian intelligence since 2015. when asked if it was true, he said nyet, i mean no. >> defense officials say a russian spy ship has been seen 30 mailings off the coast of the united states. said one u.s. official, oh, that's my uber. >> the story is all over cable news and trump is not happy. he went on twitter and said msnbc and cnn are unwatchable. he said and i know because i

spent all day watching. >> we just learned from multiple intelligence sources that trump aides were, quote, in constant touch with senior russian officials during the campaign. constant touch, by the way, is also trump's secret service code name. >> how much fun are they having? >> that's my point. >> so much material. >> they seem to be really enjoying their jobs at the moment as do you. >> i'll see you at 2:00. >> thank you, we'll be watching. cnn "newsroom" begins with poppy harlow and john berman after this break. we'll see you tomorrow. retirement planning clearer. and it all starts with getting your fidelity retirement score. in 60 seconds, you'll know where you stand. and together, we'll help you make decisions for your plan... to keep you on track. ♪ time to think of your future

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good morning everyone. i'm poply harlow. >> i'm john berman. >> thanks so much for joining us. pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. that's what they say in the wizard of oz. it's also what they're saying in the white house and parts of capitol hill, pay no attention to the cnn reports that trul campaign advisers were in constant contact with russian officials during election season, pay no attention between what was said between former national security adviser michael flynn and the russian ambassado ambassadors. >> instead, some want to know who exposed this information. they say it is the leaks, not the secretive conversations that